Prized free agent Carmelo Anthony visited Houston on Wednesday and was greeted with images of him in two Rockets uniforms.

A day after visiting the Bulls, the New York Knicks’ star continued his tour in Houston. A video board outside the Toyota Center depicted one image of Anthony in Houston’s white uniform with red lettering and another in a retro red and yellow uniform. Between the pictures was Anthony’s logo with the word ‘Melo’ in it.

He was wearing his No. 7 in both renderings, despite the fact that current Rocket Jeremy Lin wears that number. The Rockets would likely have to unload the point guard to snag Anthony.

Lin responded to the snub on Twitter on Wednesday afternoon with a bible verse. He tweeted the verse Luke 6:29: “If someone slaps you on one cheek, turn to them the other also. If someone takes your coat, do not withhold your shirt from them.”

He later tweeted a much stronger response to the jersey pictures.

“Im entitled to standup for myself/say i felt disrespected as i did thru tweet but point is love unconditionally/as jesus loved me,” Lin tweeted.

Houston got the biggest prize in free agency last offseason when it signed Dwight Howard away from the Lakers, with designs on making a deep run in the playoffs this year. But the Rockets were bounced from the postseason in the first round just as they were the year before. So they started looking for more upgrades to the roster.

They made the first move to free up money for adding players by agreeing to a trade that will send center Omer Asik and cash considerations to the New Orleans Pelicans for a protected future first-round draft pick.

Lin is set to make more than $8 million next season in the final year of a three-year contract. That’s a steep price for a backup after he was relegated to the bench last season because of solid play by Patrick Beverley and started just 33 games.

The 30-year-old Anthony would add another proven score to a team that features Howard and Harden. Anthony averaged 25.2 points last season with the Knicks, which was second in the NBA to Oklahoma City’s Kevin Durant. Harden was fifth in the league with a 24.3 average, but the team struggled in its playoff series against the Trail Blazers while focused on shutting him down.

Anthony is expected to meet with the Dallas Mavericks and the Lakers before sitting down with the Knicks.

The Rockets would not provide details about Anthony’s meeting Wednesday.

Nets snare Hollins

The Brooklyn Nets reached an agreement in principle with Lionel Hollins to become their coach, moving quickly after the departure of Jason Kidd.

The deal with the former Memphis Grizzlies coach comes two days after the Nets made a trade with Milwaukee to allow Kidd out of his contract so the Bucks could hire him.

Nets general manager Billy King and his assistants then met with Hollins on Monday night and again Tuesday before agreeing to the deal. Terms were not disclosed.

“I want to thank the Nets ownership and Billy for this opportunity,” Hollins said in a statement. “It has been a long process to get back into the league, and I believe that Billy and I will have a very successful working relationship. Brooklyn has firmly established itself as a franchise that is committed to winning, and I eagerly look forward to becoming part of that culture and building on the success of the past two playoff appearances.”

The Nets will introduce Hollins at a press conference Monday.

Hollins led Memphis to 56 victories and the 2013 Western Conference finals before he and the Grizzlies parted ways. The Nets considered him last year after firing P.J. Carlesimo before hiring Kidd.

He was the only known candidate the Nets interviewed this time. King said he had reached out to one other person who chose not to pursue the job.

“If you look at (his) track record and what he did in Memphis, he was able to go in there and take a team, added some veterans and they continually got better,” King said. “He developed some young guys, (Marc) Gasol, some big guys. If you look at Memphis, they got consistently got better every year. All the way to the Western Conference finals.”

Bucking the trend

New Bucks owners Marc Lasry and Wes Edens admit they may have made some errors in luring Jason Kidd to Milwaukee.

That doesn’t mean they aren’t happy to have him as the Bucks’ new coach.

“Our one goal is to hire people to run it, that know what they’re doing,” Edens said. “Jason is someone I’ve admired as a player. He did a great job managing the Nets this year and we think he’s the best young coaching talent in basketball.”

Kidd, who was formally introduced at the BMO Harris Bradley Center, said there were no hard feelings over his abrupt and surprising departure from Brooklyn, where he won 44 games and reached the second round of the playoffs as a first-year head coach.

Kidd dismissed the suggestion that he left after being turned down in seeking control of the Nets’ basketball operations department. And he said he had no plans to seek a similar role in Milwaukee, where general manager John Hammond is under contract through the 2015-16 season.

“They are not true,” Kidd said. “It’s not about power. You guys ran with that. It’s not about power. As I was introduced, I’m the coach.”

No Lovefest

Kevin Love is no longer on the list of participants in the celebrity softball game at Target Field during the Major League Baseball All-Star festivities.

MLB released the latest list of stars scheduled to take their swings in the exhibition July 13, and Love was not included. Minnesota Twins spokesman Chris Iles said Love now has another commitment and will no longer be able to take part. Adrian Peterson, Zach Parise and Maya Moore remain among the standouts set to play.

Love’s appearance surely would’ve caused a commotion, and likely boos from the crowd. Having told the Timberwolves he will opt out of his contract after next season, Love (UCLA) is on the trade market this summer.

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